Cylinder head gasket



`.lume 1s, 1954 A. J. AuKsRs 2,681,241 CYLINDER HEAD GASKET Filed neo. 18. 195o :x--zi i gion of the grommet will Patented June 15, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE CYLINDER. HEAD GASKET Albert J. Aukers, Manufacturing 8 Claims.

This invention relates to grommets for insertion in a cylinder head gasket for internal combustion engines and has for its principal object the provision of `a new and improved device of this kind.

it is a main object of the invention to provide an arrangement for securing a grommet4 in a gasket which insures that the forces compressing the gasket and grommet will act upon the grominet ecently.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grommet for inclusion in a cylinder head gasket, which grommet is thicker than the gasket and is compressible with the gasket to form a tight seal between the cylinder head and block of an internal combustion engine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grommet secured in a gasket by a plate that is thinner than the compressed thickness of the gasket so that forces of compression in the rebe concentrated on the grommet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a gasket having grommets located between the bolt holes and edge of the gasket, which grommetsare composed of compresslble material, are thicker than the gasket and are located in a region that is thinner than the remainder of the gasket so that forces of compression in the region will be concentrated on the grommets to insure forming a tight seal.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved way of securing a group of grommets in a cylinder head gasket.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a grommeted be manufactured quality.

Further objects not specifically mentioned here will be apparent from the detailed description and claims which follow, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example and in which Fig. l is a top plan View of a cylinder head gasket embodying grommets of this invention, with part of the gasket facing cut away to better show the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical cross section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View in vertical cross section through a grommet of the type shown in Fig. 2, in position and compressed between a cylinder head and blo k which have been drawn tight; and i i at low cost without sacrificing cylinder head gasket that can Chicago, Ill., assignor to Victor & Gasket Co., Chicago, Ill., a

2 Fig. e is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical cross section taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and showing another embodiment of the invention.

In the prior art of which I am has been encountered in preventing leakage pressure is also located between the stud line and the edge of the gasket, and the sealing of such oil has been particularly troublesome.

A successful means for eliminating this leakage is disclosed in my Patent No. 2,395,243 in which grommet, mounted in the cylingasket by an annular flange portion extending into the body of the gasket around the openings, co-acts with the cylinder head and block to seal the passage therebetween. Such a grommet has proven to be an efficient means of preventing leakage around such openings.

However, in the manufacture of gaskets em ploying the grommets of patent, certain diiiiculty has been encountered in positioning the grommet in the gasket during assembly thereof. Furthermore, in many gaskets the close proximity of the asbestos or other gasketing material to the outer periphery of the grommet has resulted in the forces of compression being largely absorbed by the gasketing material rather than by the elastomer grommet surrounding the passageway, with a corresponding reduction in the sealing eiiciency of said grommet. It is to correcting' the above situations that the present invention is directed.

Referring more particularly to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that Fig.

cant, and openings other coolants through the gasket. Grommets e are mounted in lubricant openings 4 and coolant openings 5. As can best be seen in Fig. 2, the gasket is basically of the well known metal-clad type in which a layer l' of suitable gasketing ma terial such as asbestos is encased between upper facing 8 and lower facing 9 which may be of any suitable metal such as sheet steel or copper.

The grommet 6 of this invention is preferably constructed of a compounded synthetic rubber or elastomer bonded to a metallic washer I3, said elastomer having oil, water and heat resistant characteristics satisfactory for the use intended and is mounted in the openings 4 or 5 in the manner hereinafter described. The grommet comprises an annular ring t containing an outwardly opening groove Il that extends completely around the outer surface I2 of the ring. The ring ii is bonded, preferably chemically, to a flat metal washer I3 which is disposed in the groove Il. The washer i3 is larger than the ring t and forms an outwardly extending ilange iii which extends into the gasket between facings S and Si and securely holds the grommet in posi-Y tion surrounding opening 4. Y

The ring portion e of the grommet e is thicker than the gasket I and preferably centered vertically with respect to washer I3 thereby extending above and below` the gasket surface as shown at it.

The washer i3 of grommet E is made of sheet steel or other suitable metal and is thinner than the layer oi gasketing material 1, as is apparent in Fig. 2. lt has been found that for maximum sealing efficiency o the grommet, the washer I3 should be slightly thinner than the thickness to which the gasketing material i is compressed when the gasket I is positioned between a cylinder head and block and those members drawn down tight into operating position.

Since the grommets E are thicker than the re mainder oi the gasket when the gasket is registered with an engine block I1, the grommets will engage the block first. When the cylinder head L? is registered with the block and gasket, it also irst engages the grommets. As the cylinder head bolts or studs are drawn down, the grommets are compressed and the block and head brought into engagement with the iacings B and 9 of the gasket, and further movement ci the head compresses the gasket material l and the grommets. When the gasket material I is fully compressed and the head is in its final position on the block, the washers G3, being thinner than the compressedL material are not under pressure and consequently all pressures in the regions of the grommets are on the grommets themselves. This insures that the grommets will form iiuidtight seals between the block and head even though 'the head may warp some under theV infiuence o the heat and pressure to which it may be subjected, this warping being greatest in the regions between the bolts and outer edges of the head. Y Y

Figs. l and 4 disclose an alternate construction advantageously used Where several grommets are positioned in a single gasket in linear or substantially linear relation one to the other. In this embodiment of the invention, the several grommets 2Q are located in a common plate 2i that is composed of metal such as sheet steel, to which the grommets are bonded. The plate 2l is the same thickness as the washers I3. The lacing members al and 9 of the gasket extend over the plate 2i and the assembly is secured together by hollow rivets '22. The plate 2l contains perforations 23 throughwhich the rivets 22 project, which perforations are larger thanthe rivet heads so that as the rivets are drawn tight the iacings 3 and s will be drawn into the perforations.

As will be seenbest in `Fig. 4, the plate is thinner than the main portion 24 of the gasket and the heads o'irivets l22 donot project beyond Ythe upper and lower faces respectively of the faoings 8 and 9. Grommets 2B are normally thicker than the gasket and as a result are compressed the same as grommets t. It will be noted from Fig. l Vthat the plate 2i lies entirely between the bolt holes 3 and the edge of the gasket; consequently when the head is drawn down tightly on the block, all pressure in the region between the bolts and edge of the head is on the grommets, and huid-tight seals around the coolant openings s are assured. The tendency of the cylinder head to warp under the heat and pressure to which it subjected, is greatest in the region between the bolt holes 3 and the edge of the head, that is, in the region of grommets 2t. These grommets being relatively resilient are capable of maintaining a tight seal despite such warping, and leakage of coolant from the openings 5 is effectively prevented. The inclusion of several grommets E@ in a single plate 2I is further advantageous in that the cost of manufacture of the grommeted gasket is thereby reduced.

. In the drawings, the grommets 6 are round and grommets 2e are oval shape, such shapes being shown by way of example only, as the teachings 4of the invention contemplate shaping the grommets as required to fit them to the mani7 Y designs of cylinder heads and blocks encountered.

Having thus complied with the statutes and shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, what l consider new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent is pointed out in the appended claims.

W hat is claimed is:

l. The combination with a metal-faced -cylinder head gasket having the usual combustion openings, water and stud holes, and an oil hole for transmitting oil under pressure to operating parts of an engine; of a grommet for the oil hole, comprising: a metal washer projecting between the gasket acings around the oil hole, and an elastomer annulus chemically bonded to the inside edge of said washer and dening said oil hole, said elastomer extending through openings in and equidistantly above and below the metal iacings of thegasket.

2. A gasket as claimed in claim l, in which the oil holes in the 'faoings -of the gasket are larger than the outside diameter of the elastomer to provide an annular space into which the elastomer may be displaced as it is compressed axially.

3. The combination with a gasket having a central member composed of a compressible gasket material and thin metal facings secured on the two faces of said material; oi a grommet comprising an annulus or" elastomer having an outwardly opening groove centeredin its outer 'race and extending completely around the annulus, and a metal plate fitted in said groove and extending outwardly therefrom, to Vwhich plate the elastomer is chemically bonded,'said annulus having greater thickness than the gasket normal to the faces of the gasket, said plate tting between said acings and being thinner than said gasket material so that when the gasket and grommet are compressed between two members all pressure in the region immediately adjacent the grommet will bear against the annulus.

4. In a cylinder 'head gasket in which a sheet of asbestos contains combustion and coolant openings and oil and stud holes, with a row ci stud holes'closely adjacent one edge oi the sheet, and in which metal acings disposed on 'the faces of the sheet contain'openings and holes registered respectively with those in the sheet and in which "xml" said facings extend beyond the edge of the sheet adjacent said row of stud holes and contain a plurality of coolant perforations in said extending portions, a grommet comprising: a metal plate disposed between the extending portions of said facings and abutted against said edge of said sheet, said plate containing a plurality of perforations each registered with one or the perforations in said facings, and an elastomer element chemically bonded to the plate around each of said perforations therein and extending through the registered perforations in the facings and terminating in planes beyond the exposed faces of said faeings, said plate being thinner than the minimum thickness to which the sheet is adapted to be compressed so that al1 pressures applied immediately adjacent the grommets will be on the elastomer elements.

5. A gasket as claimed in claim 4, in which the perforations in the extending portions of the facings are larger than the elastomer elements registered therewith, so that the elements project loosely through the perforations.

6. A gasket as claimed in claim 41, in which the planes wherein the elastomer elements terminate are parallel to each other and disposed equidistantly from the center of the plate and gasket.

7. A gasket as claimed in claim 4, in which the plate also contains holes with which smaller holes in the faeings are registered and through which are extended hollow rivets that are smaller than the holes in the plate and thinner than the plate, which rivets draw the faongs into the holes in the plate to secure the plate in the gasket.

8. A gasket as claimed in claim 4, in which the elastomer elements are chemically bonded to both faces of the plate and to the edges of the perforations therein and the tendency of the elements to move into the perforations as pressure is applied by studs in said roW of stud holes is resisted solely by the bonds.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

